Valve operator unit



F. s. FLICK 2,954,754

VALVE OPERATOR UNIT Filed Sept. 24, 1956 Patented Oct. 4, 1960 number of supporting tie rods or posts and spacing collars 6 which hold the plates in this relation. The spacing collars may conveniently be made of standard 2,954,754 commercial pipe and bear against the inner surface VALVE OPERATOR UNIT 5 of the plates. The posts are additionally threaded on either end in order to receive retaining nuts 7. The Francis S. Flick, Oak Park, 'HL, assignol' to Flick-Reedy frame thus constructed of the parallel base plates 3 and Corporation, a mrpomfion of Illinois 4, the posts 5 and collars 6 is a fairly rigid structure.

r v a The power operator parts are mounted within the Filed Sept 1956 611,539 10 frame and include a crank 10 having a hollow hub or 5 Claims. ((31. 12138) sleeve portion 11 and an arm 12. The crank is pivotally mounted between the plates 3 and 4 by extending trunnions or end portions thereof into bushings 14 and 15 press fitted into the plates 3 and 4. The arm is formed This application relates to a valve operator and more 15 of a pair of spaced plates 16 and 17 Welded to the particularly to a package power unit which may be hollow hub 11. A plug 13 may be used in the upper placed on any one of several valve sizes and classes to end of the hollow hub to keep out dirt, etc., if desired. provide an operator for the valve. The motive power for turning the crank in the present The present power unit is primarily intended to be operator is provided by a piston and cylinder device 20, used as an operator for valves of the butterfly yp or 20 which may be operated either with a liquid or pneumatisimilar valves having a similarly required motion for cally. Ordinarily, is is preferred that the piston and opening and sing th Va v Va v Of s ype v cylinder device be double acting so that fluid inlets and a closure member, or disk. which y be turned W h n outlets 21 and 22, placed on the side of the heads 23 a valve case through 90 to effect opening and closing d 24, re provided. The piston and cylinder de- Of the Valveother yp of Valves ing cone, 25 vice is also mounted within the frame of the unit and spherical and ball types employ a similar motion in openfor this purpose, stub shafts 25 and 26 are attached to ing and closing. the head 24 so as to extend into bushings 27 and 28 re- III the P Valves have been constructed meet parspectively in the plates of the frame. These stub shafts ticular specifications of the environment in which they act as trunnions pivotally mounting the piston and cylinare to be used. The size of the Valves Var s as Well 30 der device for swinging movement in a plane parallel as the amount of material used in the valve to meet presto the plane of movement of the crank. sure situations. Each valve was, therefore, of a some- A connection is provided between the fluid motor and What special design for the particular job. Some of the crank by connecting the piston rod 29 by means of the valves were quite large so that power operators connector as to the arm 12 of the crank with a pivotal were required to open and close them. In the latter connection provided by the pin 31. The trunnion mountinstance, the operators generally were of a special deing of the piston and cyiinder allows it to swing as the sign for each valve and no stock, or uniform, type of crank 10 is turned through approximately 90 to effect operator was available for use on a line of valves. opening and closing of the valve with which it is asso- The present invention provides a compact power unit ciated. which c n e t h d to y n f a n m r f ifferen The structure of the operator is such that the forces Valves in Order to Provide an operator the ValVeexerted on the frame by the cylinder and the crank are It is, therefore, the principal object of this invention t balanced. It should be noted that the crank and cylinder P v a 116W and improved Package alve operator. are both centered between the plates so that one-half of Another object is to provide a Valv operator unit the reaction of each is taken up by one plate. Even with that may be selectively attached to any one of a numthe nuts 7 on the posts loose, the operator will function be: of diiferent sizes and C ass s f Va vessatisfactiorily because of the balanced load or force car- A further object is to provide a compact power unit ried in the plate Without transfer through the posts. No which may be attached as an operator for a valve and misalignment of the operator and valve shaft will occur which may be manufactured in different sizes with a and thus the unit is particularly adapted for long service minimum number of parts. life.

Other objects, features and advantages of the present One important feature of the present valve operator invention Will be pp from the following description is its ease of mounting on existing valve structures. In of a preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated Figure 2, th bonnet o h ft housing 32 of a valve is in t accompanying drawings in which: shown with the base plate 33 against which the plate 4 of F gur 1 i a P View Of 3 Valve Operator ythe frame abuts. The base plates of the valves are usually ing the invention; and provided with a number of bolt holes so that the plate 4- of Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view with parts broken the frame may be drilled with a similar pattern permitting away taken through the valve operator of Figure l bolting of the power unit directly to the valve. In Figsubstantially along line 22. me 1, four such bolts 35 are shown in dotted outline Whereas in the past valve operators have been an illustrating the means for securing the operator to the base expensive custom made Piece of machinery, the Present 33 of the valve. Individual bolt openings may thus be operator permits a relatively stock item to be used drilled for receiving bolts 35 fastening the operator to a on a considerale number of different valve sizes. The valve. Different valves may have different patterns of valves usually have a bonnet with a base about the bolt openings so that it is preferred to drill the plates valve shaft supporting the disk, or valve closure. This 4 of the operators only after it is determined which valve base provides a convenient means for attaching an operof a line is to receive the operator. This can be done in ator for turning the shaft. The unit here involved is the field very easily with the usual tools available. intended for placement on a valve without altering the The connection between the valve shaft and the present valve or its bonnet. operator may be simply effected by inserting the valve Referring to the figures of the drawing, the operator is housed within a frame including a top plate 3 and a bottom plate 4 spaced apart in parallel relation by a shaft 36 within the sleeve 11. Ordinarily, the valve shafts are provided with a keyway for the reception of a key 37 permitting the sleeve and shaft to be fastened together.

It is usually preferred to use a shrink fit for this connection. In the event it is desired to make the operator easily removable from the valve, a spline connection is preferred so that the operator may be simply removed by unbolting it from the valve bonnet base and pulling the operator upwardly from the valve shaft 36. 1

Some valves may require a larger piston and cylinder device than others. In the manufacture of the power unit, it is only necessary to have a stock of different length posts 5 and spacers 6 in order to accommodate piston and cylinder devices of larger or smaller diameters. A few crank sizes 10 will generally accommodate the variance in sizes of the operators. Only a few plates are required with particular sized bushings in order to make up sufiiciently different sizes of operators for all valves of a particular line. The power unit is compact and self contained so that it may be used on one valve and then changed to another one if desired. A supply of operators as stock items permits the adaptation of an operator to a valve within a short time simplifying the installation and reducing the cost of providing operators for valves.

The foregoing detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only, and no unnecessary mounted on and within the frame; a fluid operated piston and cylinder motor also pivotally mounted on and with in the frame and having apiston rod connected to the crank for imparting rotary motionto the crank; said crank having a sleeve portion providing at least one pivotal mounting thereof, and said sleeve portion being exposed outwardly of said frame and receiving said end of the shaft for coupling thereto.

4. A valve operator unit for a butterfly valve comprising: a rotary shaft; a housing surrounding said shaft; a frame having means demountably attaching said frame to said housing adjacent one end of said shaft, said frame including spaced plates and a plurality of spacing posts therebetween; a crank pivotally mounted at one end be tween and carried by said plates; a fluid operated piston and cylinder motor also pivotally mounted between and carried by said plates and having a piston rod operatively connected to the other end of the crank to provide movement of the crank, said plates each carrying and limitations should be understood therefrom, for some modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

I claim: 1. A package power unit for imparting rotary motion to a shaft, comprising: a rotary shaft; a housing surrounding said shaft; a rigid frame including a pair of spaced plates; a crank having a pair of trunnions at its opposite ends each pivotally mounted in a respective plate,.one of the trunnions including a hollow portion extending through one of the plates and receiving one end of said shaft telescoped into the hollow portion for rotating the frame so as to be freely pivotally movable in operating said crank, said plates balancing the reactive forces from said cylinder and crank during operation of the unit.

3. A valve operator unit for a valve comprising a rotary shaft; a housing surrounding said shaft; a rigid frame having means demountably attaching said frame to said housing adjacent an end of said shaft; a crank pivotally balancing forces between said cylinder and crank to prevent transferring said forces through' the posts, and said crank having a sleeve portion journalling the crank in the plates and being open outwardly of the frame and receiving said one end of said shaft, said sleeve prov-id ing means securing the crank to the shaft.

5. A power unit for operating a rotary valve, comprising: a rotary shaft; a housing surrounding said shaft; a rigid frame having spaced base plates, one of said base plates providing means removably attaching the unit to said housing; a crank having trunnions at its opposite ends providing pivotal support on and between the plates, the trunnion adjacent said one base plate comprising a hollow hub receiving and operatively engaging one end of said rotary shaft to turn the shaft when the crank is turned; and a piston and cylinder device operatively connected to the crank and pivotally mounted on and between the plates, said plates balancing the force reaction of said cylinder and crank when the crank is turned to rotate said shaft.

References Cited in the fileof this patent i UNITED STATES PATENTS 26,664 'Cridge Jan. 3, 1860 2,194,374 Wunsch Mar. 19, 1940 2,290,527 Bergtholdt July 21,1942 2,316,052 Dach Apr. 6,1943 2,324,224, Meredith L Q July 13, 1943 2,386,589 A Caldwell Oct. 9, 1945 1 2,390,882 Hopkins DecJll, 1945 2,911,953 Killian 1959 Nov. 10, 

